Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication terminal, an image data communication system, and a communication method.
Description of the Related Art
Videoconference systems are now in widespread use, allowing users at remote places to hold a remote conference via a communication network such as the Internet. In such videoconference systems, a communication terminal for a videoconference system is provided in a meeting room where attendants of one party in a remote conference are attending. This communication terminal collects an image or video of the meeting room including the attendants and sound such as speech made by the attendants, and transmits digital data converted from the collected image (video) and/or sound to the other party's communication terminal provided in a different meeting room. Based on the transmitted digital data, the other party's terminal displays images on a display or outputs audio from a speaker in the different meeting room to establish video communication (video calling). This enables to carry out a conference among remote sites, in a state close to an actual conference.
In addition, a technique is known that connects, to a communication terminal, an image capturing device that is configured to capture a spherical panoramic image in real time, and distributes the spherical panoramic image acquired by the image capturing device from the communication terminal to each of communication terminals of the other party. Each of the communication terminals of the other party sequentially converts the received spherical panoramic image to a predetermined-area image representing a predetermined area, which is a part of the spherical panoramic image, and displays the predetermined-area image on a display. This enables a user in each of remote sites to determine a predetermined-area image to be displayed, representing an image of a predetermined area that the user is interested in, from a whole image of the spherical panoramic image.
In addition, there is a known technique that according to which a relay server that relays a video image among two or more video communication terminals superimposes a predetermined figure on an object in the video image, the object being specified by the video communication terminal. This provides a video image in which the figure is combined with the object in the video image even when the object in the video image moves.